Above photo courtesy of Roger Farwell at Enstone Images Both teams at the top of the Weekly Coaches Poll were off during week 6 of the poll.  But nobody was able to pull off the impressive win it would have taken to overtake them during the down time.

1. 

   St. Andrew’s had the week off but maintains the top spot.
2. Jupiter was also off and stayed in the #2 spot.
3. Lake Highland Prep moved up for the second time in two weeks.  The Highlanders topped then ranked #3 St. Thomas Aquinas 12-11 and came right back with an 18-5 victory over Tampa Jesuit (tenth on our list.)
4. St. Thomas Aquinas swapped spots with Lake Highland after the close loss.  They rebounded with a convincing 15-7 win over defending Georgia State Champs, Milton High School.
5. Benjamin is holding steady at #5 as they were also off last week.
6. Lake Brantley holds onto the #6 position with wins over Lake Mary and Illinois’ Greylakes Central.
7. Ponte Vedra is also unchanged this week.  The Sharks had a successful Spring Break road trip to South Florida beating Gulliver Prep 7-3 and Coral Shores 19-2.  They have a big game against Hagerty High School on Friday.
8. Lake Mary stayed at number eight despite a 1-2 week.  After cruising past Father Lopez they lost a tough game to #6 ranked Lake Brantley and followed that up with a 8-4 loss to Lambert (GA.) As we have learned in the past, our voters love a tough schedule!
9. Vero Beach is in at number nine this week.  The big upset over Jupiter caught everyone’s attention but wasn’t enough to crack the top ten.  They followed that up with a close 9-8 loss to a tough Creekside team and then knocked off Boca Raton.  It proved to be enough for our voters who moved them into the top ten this week.  Can they stay? We’ll have t wait and see.
10. Bartram Trail continues their “on- again- off- again” relationship with our pollsters.  The Bears had two solid wins on their spring break road trip over Coral Shores and Gulliver Prep.  They have a chance to solidify their spot on this list as they take on #3 ranked Lake Highland Prep tonight.

Tampa Jesuit has had three losses against big time completion and just missed making the list this week.  They lost to St. Andrew’s by one 10-9, then Jupiter 18-3, and Lake Highland Prep 18-5.  Nothing like taking on numbers 1,2,&3 in consecutive games! They have since rebounded with a nice win over Lambert (who beat #8 Lake Mary.)  We’ll have to see how the voters react as this week plays out. Columbus is also knocking on the door at 12-2.  They just don’t have the strength of schedule it takes to impress enough of our voters. Hagerty, Creekside, Boca, and Maclay also received votes this week.  Of these schools Hagerty has the toughest schedule ahead with games against Ponte Vedra and Lake Highland Prep.  An upset or even a strong showing might be enough to get them back onto the top ten list next week. Things are getting tighter in the North as well as the South.  “Story of the playoffs could be the battle in the North region as they are possibly 3-4 teams that could compete for the regional spot,” commented Maclay’s Mike Jones. We agree, there has been a lot of attention paid to the upsets in South Florida this season, but with Creekside, Bartram Trail, and Maclay all playing well down the stretch there is no walk to the final four for Ponte Vedra this year either. Tampa Jesuit’s John Matzke is looking forward to a big Friday night lineup of games. “Friday night there are a bunch of games that are interesting. Is Hagerty ready to play with PV? Can Oak-Hall get to 13-0 against a tough Maclay team? Does Jupiter continue roll after its week off? Does Lake Mary get it back together and upset Benjamin? Coach Riordan Cheatham of Benjamin is looking forward to his senior night and the opportunities that come with a big time match up. “Benjamin finishes their regular season with STA. This should be a great game and a great senior night for our boys.”